1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to an apparatus used for grooming animals. More particularly, it relates to an improved apparatus for the removal of shedding and loose hair from animals as well as for the grooming of living hair.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Animal hair varies in length and thickness. This variation occurs between animals of differing species or breeds, and it can also occur in a single animal from season to season. When an animal's hairs are fine and closely spaced, the coat of hair is called fur; when soft, kinked, and matted together, the coat is called wool. Coarse, stiff hairs are called bristles.
In the proper care of animals, and in particular mammalian pets, it is necessary to periodically remove disconnected and loose hair from the animal.
There are a number of pet grooming devices directed towards loose hair removal. For a grooming device to be effective in removing shedding and loose hair, it must not only remove the hair that is already loose or disconnected from the epidermis of the animal, but also hair that is still connected to the epidermis but is soon to become disconnected. It is the hair follicles that are about to become loose that are the primary problem because soon after the animal is brushed or combed, these hair follicles will become loose requiring additional combing or brushing for them to be removed.
The effectiveness of the tools of the prior art in the removal of loose and shedding hair is limited by the amount of hair with which the operative parts of the device come into contact during use. The effectiveness also depends upon the amount of friction between the device and the hair follicles, or pulling force, created as the device is being used.
Manual removal of the hair using only human hands is generally undesirable. Simple stroking of the animal fails to penetrate the coat sufficiently to pull out a significant portion of loose hair follicles. Furthermore, pulling on the coat to remove hair about to come loose is painful and unpleasant to the animal.
A brush generally refers to a device comprising bristles fastened to a handle. The typical brush has some effectiveness in removing loose and shedding hair. The closer the bristles are together, the more friction occurs between the hair follicles and the brush bristles, and the more loose and shedding hair the device will remove. However, the closer the bristles are together, the harder it is to penetrate the coat of hair of the animal. If the coat of hair is not fully penetrated, the bristles of the brush do not come into contact with enough of the hair follicles that need to be removed.
A comb generally refers to a thin, toothed strip used to smooth, arrange, or fasten hair. The typical comb has some effectiveness in removing loose and shedding hair. The closer the teeth of the comb are together, the greater the friction between the teeth of the comb and the hair follicles, causing increased removal of shedding and loose hair. As with brushes, there is a limit to how close the teeth of a comb can be together and still allow effective penetration of the coat of hair. In addition, a typical comb has only one row of teeth, limiting the amount of contact with hair follicles during its use.
Previous combing devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,424 to Casler ('424 patent); U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,457 to Gordon ('457 patent); and U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,885 to Jones ('885 patent).
The '424 patent to Casler describes a comb with two rows of teeth angularly directed so that one tooth crosses and contacts another tooth. An animal's hair will pass between those teeth and the pressure between the teeth pulls at the hair and removes it if loose. While this tool does have pulling force, it has limited contact with hair follicles due to having two rows of teeth coming together at only one effective contact point.
The '457 patent to Gordon describes an elongated comb strip with V-shaped teeth on one side and parallel teeth on the other with mating handle members at either end of the strip so that the device can be bent into a closed loop teardrop shape for use. This device has the same characteristic as the other earlier combs, namely limited contact with hair follicles due to having one row of teeth and limited pulling force.
The '885 patent to Jones describes a brush designed to be attached to a vacuum cleaner tube enabling suction of loose hairs and other particles from the coat of a pet. Another device in use is a glove with the underside coated with a surface of soft, sticky rubber containing short conical protrusions. Both of these devices are limited in their effectiveness in removing loose hair by the limited amount of hair follicles that they come into contact with during use and the limited amount of friction between them and the hair follicles.
In the pending patent application by the present inventor, the claims recite a base having multiple rows of tines disposed at a common acute angle to the base on both sides thereof. A base having multiple rows of tines disposed at a common acute angle on a single side of the base is not recited. The claims also recite panels that carry such rows of tines where the panels are attached to a base, but the attachment means is quite specific.
Polymer based materials have several beneficial properties suitable for pet grooming tools. Polymers are durable, resistant to oxidation and are easily disinfected. Furthermore, an efficient method of producing combs is through thermoplastic injection molding whereby polymer resin is heated until it is liquefied and then injected into a comb-shaped cavity where it is cooled so that the polymer solidifies. The mold product is then ejected from the mold. However, this method is expensive and it is difficult to create thermoplastic injection molds for large grooming tools. Large mold objects take longer to cool and therefore lengthen the production cycle. A one-piece polymer comb does not provide the ability to interchange various comb extensions to suit a particular animal's coat. Furthermore, once a tine breaks on a one-piece polymer comb, the effectiveness of the comb is forever compromised.
Consequently, there is a need in the art for an improved pet grooming tool that provides penetration of the coat, contact with a significant portion of hair follicles and enough friction to remove loose hair still attached to the epidermis of the animal.
A need also exists for a tool that can be adjusted to deal with variations in the coats of different animals and variations in the coat of one animal from season to season.
There is a further need in the art for a multi-part grooming tool that utilizes a base separate from one or more comb extensions, all of which can be individually manufactured in separate polymer injection mold cavities.
However, in view of the prior art at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the pertinent art how the identified needs could be fulfilled.